What's your treasure?

We all have them. They come disguised, as many different things and often we have to peel back the layers of our life to figure exactly what they are and where they came from. They seem to come handed down through the generations, maybe from your grandma or your dad, a friend or a mentor. We might have picked it up in college or when we were young in elementary school. They are the things we treasure. And I don't mean "things." I mean the treasures that determine the choices you make in your life. These treasures will someday affect the quality of your life.

When I was growing up, my mom always said, "My family is my treasure!" That idea that we were that important to my mother has always been amazing to me. My mom was a talented RN and businesswoman and she treasured her family over anything else she ever accomplished. My mother-in-law was the same way. Here she was this courageous, determined businesswoman, who would stop everything she was in the midst of, for her family. Treasures were certainly not things.

Over the last 28 years I have seen many of my clients who have taken one of their treasures for granted. Of course, they didn't realize it until it was too late. Suddenly when it was gone they realized that it was of such great value to them that they are devastated by the loss of it. That treasure is their health.

A few years ago, I had three clients who were all turning 90 years old within days of each other. When I questioned them on what their greatest treasures were after all these years, they all listed their family and their health at the top of the list. Then they all proceeded to tell me that they wished they would have known how important their health would be to them as they became older. They said that there were things they would have done different so that their health would have been a priority. Is your health a priority? So what do you treasure? Your treasures determine the quality of your life. Please consider making your health one of them.

Sheree DiBiase, PT, owner of Lake City Physical Therapy, PA invites you to our May 16 meeting on exercise and it's lasting effects on your body. Learn tips and ideas on how to work it into your daily schedule.